


Looking Happy

by SerMisty



Series: PolyPearls [13]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Blue Pearl is mute, Blue is the embodyment of fluff herself, F/F, Multi, White Pearl Theory, a little bit of headcanon backstory on the pearls, fluff fluff fluff again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-06-04 13:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6659290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerMisty/pseuds/SerMisty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl, Blue and Yellow are in a relationship. It's pretty obvious.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Looking Happy

**Author's Note:**

> [anonymous asked:  
> Can I give you a polypearls prompt? Prompt: The other gems (and maybe Greg) reaction to their relationship.] 
> 
> This prompt was so good tbh, I'm only afraid I didn't do it justice. I hope you like it!

The first one to discover it is Garnet. If it even _is_ a discovery, since she already knows. 

They make turns working on the drill, and Garnet and the three pearls often end up together. Yellow and Blue work hard the whole day, to show they can be useful, to prove – _themselves_ – that they can be good.  
But when the sun goes down, and Pearl is still working as if gems really didn’t get tired, Blue and Yellow start to gravitate around her. Yellow nudges her, trying to provoke her, Blue pokes her cheek and makes her smile. Pearl keeps tightening the bolts, shifting their attentions, even when they become more affectionate. 

This until Garnet, who is working not so far away from them, comments the scene with the same tact she has in dropping the box of tungsten. 

«You three can kiss, it’s not like I mind». 

Pearl’s hand jolts, the screwdriver slips from her grip and falls on the ground. Blue and Yellow stare at Garnet in surprise.  
«I beg your pardon?» Pearl squeals, cheeks flushed. 

Garnet doesn’t repeat herself. There is no need to. She empties the box, checks the pieces. 

«You knew?» Yellow asks. «Since when?»  
«It was pretty obvious» Garnet shrugs.  
Blue chuckles silently.  
«Obvious?» Pearl parrots, her cheeks still cerulean. «How?»  
«You’re happy». 

Pearl blinks and would like to reply – does that mean she wasn’t happy before? – but from the way Garnet kneels to throw away the pieces of tungsten she doesn’t need, she imagines it would be useless.  
She scratches the back of her neck. 

«And you» she murmurs, «are okay with this?» 

She can feel Garnet’s hard stare when she turns around, even through her glasses.  
She shouldn’t need approval. 

«For me, three’s a crowd» Garnet says. «But it looks like the perfect number for you». 

That’s all she ever says about them. Blue holds Pearl’s arm, Yellow turns around to hide her smile. 

 

***

 

Amethyst discovers it because she’s always in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Blue knows that the only moment in which she can be openly affectionate is when they are alone in Pearl’s room, inside the temple. She takes all the advantage she can from it.  
She hugs and kisses and plays, takes the swords and falls and swims, grabs Pearl and kisses her and then runs after Yellow who is trying to avoid her; she sifts her fingers along Yellow’s hair and convinces her to do the same, and smiles when Pearl presses herself behind her, turns her face around, searches her lips. 

«Hey, P, your swords fell in my room again and- _what’s going on here?_ »

Pearl pushes herself away so hard that she almost falls. Yellow jumps back, her hands hiding behind her back. Blue remains still, in the middle, more disappointed than startled or embarrassed. 

«Amethyst!» Pearl blushes, coughs. «How many times did I tell you to knock before-»  
«Are you three together?!»  
«This is not-»  
« _I knew it!_ »

Pearl blinks a few times, surprised, forgetting what she wanted to say. Yellow opens her arms in resignation. Blue just chuckles, again. 

«Are we _this_ obvious?» Yellow mutters. She turns to Blue. «You’re having fun, aren’t you?»  
Blue nods, not even caring to hide it. 

Amethyst crosses her arms and smirks. 

«Well» she says, «Pearl hasn’t looked this happy in years. It wasn’t difficult to put the pieces together». 

Pearl looks away. 

«Yes, well, anyway» she murmurs, «I’d be glad if you could avoid, you know, _spreading_ the news. For now».  
«Don’t see why, but fine» Amethyst shrugs. «Will you let me borrow your swords?»  
«Yes».  
«Then consider my mouth shut, P!» 

Amethyst grabs one of the swords before Pearl can say anything else and, snickering, throws herself down the waterfall. They can hear the splash when she reaches her own room, and her laugh.  
Pearl covers her face with one hand, she sighs. 

Blue still hasn’t stopped giggling. 

 

***

 

Peridot is the first one to show uneasiness when she discovers it, but after all, what else could they expect? 

She prefers not to interact much with Blue and Yellow. Yellow, mostly, maybe because of that infamous call. Either way, she tries to avoid them when it was possible.  
But she is also curious – Pearl has to give her points for that – and so it doesn’t take much until she asks some questions. 

«There is one thing I don’t understand». 

Pearl raises her welding mask and looks down. 

«About what?»  
«About you. About _them_. About pearls, in general. But you will shout at me».  
«Will I?» Pearl laughs. «Go ahead. I’m listening». 

Peridot takes a deep breath. 

«I thought that you weren’t made to feel» she begins. «You weren’t made to be sad, or happy, or anything. You were made to stay still and receive orders, and never complain, never interact with each other» she looks up. «Don’t shout at me».  
«I’m not shouting» Pearl replies. Her voice is dry.  
«You are about to».  
«Just go on». 

Peridot coughs. 

«I wasn’t surprised that you did» she continues, «because you are labelled as defective. But them! There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with them, but still they talk and laugh and work and feel! And when you’re together, it looks like… The way you smile and laugh, like… You know…» 

Pearl watches her pressing her fists together, her cheeks slightly flushed, and she raises one eyebrow. 

«…Like we’re in love?» she offers.  
«Yes!» Peridot snaps.  
«Because we are». 

Peridot’s eyes open wide.  
Pearl is blushing, too.  
Saying it out loud is a whole different feeling. 

«You’re _what_?» Peridot screeches, but raises one hand and stops her before Pearl can repeat it. «No. No, you’re kidding me».  
«Believe me, I wouldn’t waste my energies like that».  
«You can’t be. I’ve never heard of something like that. It has never happened on Homeworld before and-» 

And Pearl bursts out in a laugh that, honestly, surprises them both. 

«What’s so funny?» Peridot frowns.  
«Never happened before?» Pearl repeats, and keeps laughing. «It happens all the time!»  
«Nonsense. Pearls aren’t-»  
«Pearls aren’t like other gems say we are. We aren’t made not to be sad or happy, we are simply made to _act_ like we don’t feel anything. But we do». 

Peridot blinks. 

«You do?»  
«Yes. But since expressing ourselves will get us shattered, we have learned to stay still, obey, and never complain» she touches her gem. «Some succeed better than others, I must admit». 

Peridot scratches her head, still at unease. 

«Anyway» she mutters, «I’ve never heard of-»  
«It’s not very common and always kept secret, because it’s rare for Pearls to interact. Most of them are relegated in their owner’s quarters. But being Diamonds’ Pearls, we saw each other often. And – _you know_ ». 

Pearl expects some outburst on how _wrong_ it is and how _insane_ they are, but instead Peridot just hums. She scratches her chin, eyes low. 

«I see».  
«Really?» Pearl smiles, surprised.  
«Maybe. I’ll go back to work, now». 

She doesn’t ask anything else, not to Pearl not to anyone. Perhaps she has simply decided that they are all defective and not worth her time, but sometimes, while putting her hands around Blue and Yellow’s shoulders, Pearl could bet she sees her smile for half a second. 

 

*** 

 

Greg discovers it accidentally, like most of the things he does. 

Pearl doesn’t immediately realize he’s there. She’s chatting with Yellow and Blue on the front porch, her back rested against the railing, when Blue holds Yellow’s hands with excitement, pointing at something inside the house. 

«Oh, no» Yellow affirms. «I’m not submitting myself to another episode of that terrible cartoon».  
Blue pouts, tries to convince her with a kiss.  
«I’m not falling for your blackmail» Yellow replies. «White, do something!» 

Pearl just laughs. Blue grabs her hand too, and it’s in that moment that Pearl notices Greg at the end of stairs, staring at them surprised and confused.  
She frowns for a single second, goes back to smile when she looks at Blue. 

«Why don’t you start?» she says. «I will join you in a minute».  
«Betrayer» Yellow hisses, before being dragged inside by a cheerful Blue.

Once they have disappeared, Pearl turns to Greg, who is slowly climbing the stairs. 

«Hi, Greg» she greets, polite. «Are you here for Steven?»  
«I promised to bring him to the circus today» the man explains. He looks away, scratches his beard.  
«Oh, of course. I had forgotten». 

Greg reaches her and remains. Pearl doesn’t move from the railing – and smiles when she hears Yellow’s complaints on the stupidity of the cartoon show.  
Greg hesitates. 

«So» he tries, coughs, stops, starts again. «Are you three just like, close friends, or…?»  
Pearl looks at him, frowns, she knows he's smarter than that. Greg blushes.  
«Yeah. Of course not». 

Silence follows. 

«That’s good!» Greg continues, smiling awkwardly. «I mean, I’m glad you found someone else. I’m glad that you… Got over it?»  
Pearl shakes her head, slowly, and from the way Greg bites his lip, she imagines he was expecting that.  
«I will never get over Rose» Pearl admits. «But this… This is different. It’s complicated to explain. I never tried». 

She thinks of Homeworld, of leotards too short for her, of kisses exchanged in secret while their Diamonds were in the other room, she thinks of decisions that she has made and that, after all, she would not change.  
She shakes her head before it hurts. 

Greg scratches his beard again. 

«Are you happy?» he asks.  
«Yes» she doesn't hesitate.  
«Then I think it’s right. It’s not my place to ask».  
«Maybe it is. I mean, if you found another woman I’d want to know who Steven is going to deal with». 

Greg’s eyes widen with the sudden realization. 

«Does Steven know?»  
«I’m planning to tell him».  
«Oh. Good». 

Silence, again, until it gets broken. 

«White! Don’t leave me alone in this torture!» 

Pearl laughs under her breath. She pushes herself away from the railing. 

«I have to go».  
«Right. Fine! Go». 

Pearl walks through the door and looks up. Steven is watching _Crying Breakfast Friends_ with Blue and Yellow while he prepares his cheeseburger backpack. He comments ecstatic something with Blue, while Yellow groans and covers her face with a pillow in desperation. 

Pearl smiles. This _must_ be right. 

 

*** 

 

Steven discovers it because Pearl tells him, but once again, this is not the true discovery. 

The sun has been down for hours when Steven slips under the covers. Pearl climbs the stairs after him, with the excuse of checking the windows. Her fingers run along the window frame, trembling. 

«Pearl?» Steven calls, confused. «Is something wrong?» 

She sits on the edge of the bed. Steven raises himself to sit, tilts his head. 

«You get along with Blue and Yellow, do you?» Pearl’s smile is a little forced.  
«Of course!» Steven replies, starry eyed. «Blue is always so kind, and Yellow acts like she isn’t, but she’s funny and caring, too!» 

Pearl giggles. 

«I’m glad» she says. «Steven, Blue and Yellow are going to be around a lot». 

She feels like the human mothers she sees sometimes on TV. She feels awkward, ridiculous. 

«Sure» Steven nods. «Just like Peridot, right? They’re Crystal Gems, too!» 

Pearl bites her lip. 

«Yes» she agrees, «that, too. But you see, we… We know each other since thousands of years, and…»  
«Yeah, I know you love them». 

Steven says that so calmly that Pearl remains with one hand raised, in the middle of her explanation, and she blinks. 

«You know?» she breathes.  
«Shouldn’t I?» Steven frowns, somewhat worried.  
«No, I mean – did somebody tell you?» 

The boy shakes his head. 

«I figured it out» he affirms. He smiles. «You looked so happy that I couldn’t think of anything else!» 

Pearl blushes, but she smiles back, softly. She looks away. 

«Do I really look this happy?» she asks in a whisper. 

(She feels guilty only for a moment). 

«You do! Even if you aren't laughing, it just feels like you’re relaxed, you know? Like something is off your chest». 

Pearl keeps smiling, and there's no guilt anymore. She ruffles Steven’s hair, the boy laughs. 

«I forget how smart you are, sometimes» she kisses his forehead. «Goodnight».  
«’Night!» 

As Pearl walks down the stairs, she realizes that she can’t make her smile go away, not even if she tries.  
A quick glance at Rose’s portrait, very quick. Blue and Yellow are waiting on the porch. 

This must be right. This is.

**Author's Note:**

> (alright expect some angst after this because I've been writing fluff for too long lol)


End file.
